


spoken on the hands

by bluecarrot



Series: tumblr tumblr tumblr prompts!!! [5]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: ASL, Alternate Universe - College/University, Cinnamon Roll, Deaf AU, First Date, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hamburr, M/M, Other, Sign Language, Tags Are Hard, Walk Into A Bar, i can do happy sometimes, library cutie, pure content, short but sweet, so cute, super fluff, tags scare me tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-20 02:04:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7386376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluecarrot/pseuds/bluecarrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College AU in which Aaron Burr is deaf/hard of hearing and Alexander Hamilton learns a bit of American Sign Language to chat with the cutie ...</p><p>quick fic for tumblr's <a href="http://alexanburrsir.tumblr.com/page/1">AlexanBurrSir</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i am **not** fluent in ASL, just a perpetual student of it and i love love love the language -- any mistakes are entirely my own (that being said, a lot a LOT of signs are regional, so please don't get mad if your sign is not the same as i use, right? but please do scold me if i mess up :)

 

 

There he was. Right there, sitting at the long table near the window. 

A couple of students were sitting nearby and chattering loudly (too loud for a library) but Aaron didn't seem to mind -- well, Alex thought, he wouldn't, would he? He was _deaf._  True, he wore one of those cochlear implants attached to the side of his head in class, but he didn't seem to bother with it when he was just going around campus on his own time. He wasn't wearing it right now. 

So. That was okay. Alex could do this. He'd been up all night studying. He was so prepared. He was ready. He _had_ this.

He sat down across the table from Burr. 

_Hi_. It was just a wave of the hand near his head. Burr glanced over and nodded: Yeah, hello. And went back to doodling in his notebook.

Okay. Um. Alex tried again. _Hey. Nice sweater._ A vague gesture in the air, two palms moving apart, and then _sweater_  was a movement on his chest, right? It _was_ a nice sweater, gray and green stripes. It went well with the warm undertones of his skin, the lucid mahogany depth in his eyes. It was distracting.

Aaron blinked. He shook his head. "What?" His voice was flat and had no affect. As he spoke, his hands moved -- a tiny motion. Was he signing back? God, this was hard. 

_Your sweater?_ Alex tried again. _Nice._

_What?_

That meant Alex was definitely signing wrong. Okay. S-W-E-A-T-E-R, he spelled, feeling painfully awkward now.

_Sweater,_  Aaron signed, the same movement Alex had done but in the opposite direction. _You like? Thanks._

Alex nodded. He couldn't remember anything else he'd studied last night but there had to be _something_ , right? Think, Hamilton. Think. _What I say wrong?_ he signed, slowly.

Y-O-U-N-G, Burr spelled, even more slowly. Alex had to write it down to understand. Oh. Okay. That really was wrong. 

They stared at each other.

_Sweater make your eyes pretty,_  he said -- or tried to. He guessed he hadn't gotten it quite right because Aaron laughed without a sound and signed something he didn't understand.

_Sorry, what?_

Burr did it again, more slowly now, one curved hand tapping on to a flat palm; then he spelled it out. A-G-A-I-N.

_Make,_ Alex signed. M-A-K-E --

Aaron was waving, stopping him. _No, no. Coffee_ , he signed, spelling it a second later. _Make_.

Alex flushed. He'd _studied_  this.

Aaron touched his arm. "It's fine," he said, aloud. "Don't worry." His voice was calm and warm, his English was clear enough, but it had none of the personality of his sign language. He sounded completely disinterested. No wonder people thought he was stuck-up. (Or maybe they were just nervous around the scary, scary deaf kid? Naw.)

"It brings out your eyes," said Alex, soft. _Your eyes_. At least he'd remembered to speak clearly and articulate the consonants. _Green,_ he signed.  _Gray. Brown. Nice._

Aaron was definitely smiling now. B-E-E-R, he signed; _beer._ B-R-O-W-N, _brown._ They were the exact same motion just repeated a different number of times. How could anyone ever remember all this?

_Sorry._

_Fine. Really._ And Aaron signed something else that Alex didn't understand, then, more slowly:  _You learn sign language? Why?_

_I like --_ Alex started, and stopped himself. He didn't know how to explain. _I think you're cute and I wanted to hit on you_  was a bit much for their first conversation, but what other excuse was there? And he remembered reading the warning from one website: _Deaf people rely on reading body language to get along in the hearing world, so they're good at reading non-verbal cues. Don't even bother trying to lie in sign language._

_Pretty,_ he said.

_What?_

_Pretty language._  He was feeling warm again, that wasn't what he had wanted to say, he had meant to be bold and brave and confident, but the sign for _pretty_ was a graceful circle over his own face and he was looking at Aaron and all at once he was sure -- entirely sure -- that Aaron knew what he was thinking.

That damned smile again.  _Pretty_ , said Aaron. _OK._ He signed a few more things and Alex didn't understand and Aaron, who was clearly able to understand when he was not understood, sighed out loud and tried again, voicing now in that same flat tone as he signed: "You busy now? Want to go for coffee? Maybe beer?"

"Are you teasing me?"

Burr held up his thumb and forefinger the slightest, smallest distance apart.

"Is my sign language that bad?"

He shook his head.

"Be honest."

Aaron just shrugged. _Study. Learn. Fine._ Another few signs, too fast for Alex to understand though he thought he recognized some of them. His confusion must have been obvious because Burr literally spelled it out: S-M-A-R-T. And then an A shape next to this eye, brushing upwards and twisting outwards.

"What does that mean?" He tried to sign while he spoke, as Burr did, feeling uncharacteristically clumsy and slow: _What mean?_

_Your name sign._

"Alex," said Alex, trying it out. _Alex._  He sort of liked it.

"Because _smart_ , _Alex,_ see," said Aaron, demonstrating the relationship, how the movements imitated each other.

"What's yours?" _What your?_  

"Burr," said Aaron: a B-shape on the same part of the face, curving down.

_Mean?_

"Like _donkey,_ " said Aaron Burr. He grinned. "I'm stubborn."

Alex felt strange about speaking aloud, as if noise broke the understanding they were building between them: a communication spoken on the hands. Aaron's voice was formed by years of laborious speech therapy; it hid his emotions and personality rather than revealing them, and Alex didn't like to hear it; he wanted to watch those hands forming shapes and breaking apart again. He wanted to know what it would be to kiss -- to touch -- to be in bed -- would they leave the lights on? Or would they draw closed the shades and let themselves go mute and sightless in the dark, focusing on texture and touch and taste and heat -- 

He swallowed. Focus, Alex.

And Aaron had called him _smart._ "I don't feel smart right now. I feel stupid." He touched a closed fist to the forehead. _Stupid._

Burr shook his head. _Alexander._ And then a sign on his chin, two fingers drawn down twice.

_Sorry,_  said Alex, feeling worse and worse. _What?_

" _Cute,"_  said Burr. "You're cute."

"Uhh," said Alex. "My signing is cute? You mean it's bad?"

Burr laughed aloud. It was a delicious noise, simple and clean and unaffected and somehow familiar. 

"Cute face," said Aaron, signing and voicing together. "Ready for coffee?"

_Yes please,_ signed Alex.

They went out in the street and waited together for the light to change. 

Alex tapped his shoulder. _Hey. Burr?_  

No voice, no hands, just raised eyebrows.

_You pretty. Cute. I learn sign. Why? You cute._

And Aaron Burr smiled a little, looking straight ahead. Was he blushing? Was that dark cheek a little rosy?

Oh god, Alex had lied to him. Their first date (if this was a date) and he'd already lied.

Aaron was more than _cute._ He was _gorgeous._

And he thought _Alex_ was cute.

Well.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to act casual but he could feel himself actually glowing. How embarrassing.

The light changed and they walked across together to the little cafe on the corner, well-frequented by sleepy college students, and as they waited in line, Alex considered all the possible merits of really, really dedicating himself to learning a language.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Alex has friends AND a boyfriend (??) and everything is good.
> 
> also: HAPPY 240th BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!! i write you nice happy fluffy things sometimes

 

 

"Okay. You all know I like this guy?"

Lafayette choked on his drink. " _Oui._ "

"Little bit." That was Mulligan.

"You won't shut up about it," said Laurens. "Writing his name and yours together in your diary. _Mr Alexander Burr._ "

Alex hotly protested this character assassination. "I do _not_ have a diary --"

but

"Ah,  _Aaron_!" 

"Those _eyes!_ "

"His beautiful _skin!_ "

Alex was bright red. "Shut. Up."

"Oh Laurens, do you think he likes me back? I'm feeling faint. Hold me. It's all too much."

"But does he like you or _like-like_ you?"

"You are all jerks. I'm never talking to you again." He was laughing, taking another drink, unable to stop grinning at them. "Fine, make fun of me all you like. But don't do it when he's here, okay? It's too soon. We're not even really dating yet." 

"You're learning an entire language just to flirt with him," said Mulligan. "I wouldn't say that it's _too soon_ to make fun of you _._ "

" _D'accord._ Alexander is a hopeful lover, _oui?_  Lovers, they will do the effort. _Mais_ whowill study _français_   _pour moi?_ Eh? _"_

"Speaking Fren-glish has not exactly been a barrier to your social life," said Alex, rather dryly; Lafayette was enormously popular with every gender. "Seriously, though. Will you guys please be cool?"

He got nods from two of them and a rather sullen " _c'est bon_ " from Lafayette. Good enough. 

He went back outside and fetched Burr. _Thank you. Sorry for make you wait._

_Fine._ Burr studied him.  _You ok?_

_Yes._

_You worry? Why?_

_Nothing._ He sighed. Ok.  _My friends. They ..._  He couldn't describe them, his vocabulary was too small and their personalities were too big. _Friends little-bit crazy._

Burr laughed, silently; he took Alex's hand and leaned against him. 

He was reassuring him. 

He didn't care. 

The nervous knot in his stomach started to melt. 

Okay. He could do this. _They_ could do this. He was part of a team and the team could do this.

They went back inside.

"Hey," he said to his friends. He was nervous again. 

They mumbled something in response, not really looking up.

"Um, everyone, this is Aaron Burr. -- Aaron?" and he turned to him, signing: _Aaron, my friends. All happy to-meet-you._  He spelled their names and pointed them out -- Lafayette, just now staring moodily over the top of a pilsner glass; John Laurens looking particularly young; and the broad-shouldered Mulligan, with his tendency to alarm people who'd never seen him smile.

"Hi," said Aaron, and sat down calmly. 

Alex stood nearby, fidgeting and gritting his teeth and trying to silently remind them to behave, behave, oh please _please_ behave, just for an hour or two and then we'll leave and you can laugh at me all you like, okay?

And then Laurens waved at Aaron. _Hey. You. Want beer?_

At least, that was what it looked like he'd said. But it wasn't _possible,_ he thought wildly. It was his imagination. Laurens gestured all the time while he talked anyway, and it had looked a _little_ bit like signing but it was real sloppy and --

And 

_Good beer,_ signed Mulligan, clearly enough. He winked at Alex. _Cold, nice, good._

_Nice meet-you._ That was Lafayette. _Nice eyes. Pretty. You single?_

Aaron was grinning, laughing, blushing; he kept glancing over at him like he'd planned this.

Alex sat down on a stool next to his boyfriend. His knees felt weak.

What a bunch of assholes, he thought, fondly, and bought them another round.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alexander Hamilton so totally had a diary

**Author's Note:**

> Coupla notes: 
> 
> -hh/deaf people get ignored a lot because hearing people are scared to try and talk with them. this is shitty behavior. do not do this.  
> - _sweater / young_ are about the same sign, but one goes down-up  & one is signed up-down. _coffee / make_ are not all that similar but _brown / beer_ still confuse me sometimes even after ten (!) years of studying  
>  -name signs are often initialized (just like Alex and Aaron's are here) with some added information about the person, like their appearance or an aspect of their personality; that's not a hard-and-fast-rule, i know a woman whose name sign is literally "hot pants"  
> -the effectiveness of coch implants depends on a lot of factors! some people love them, some hate them, some wear them all the time, some don't ... i can see Aaron being really, REALLY irritated by its limitations & even more irritated because it actually does help him sometimes, so  
> -for one night of studying, Alex is doing SUPER good at this thing  
> -Aaron is wearing a Slytherin sweater because of course he is i will fight you on this
> 
> i am ALSO on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/littledeconstruction) if that is your thing! over there, just like here, i am a hot mess of political/feminist emotion, some jokes about knitting, and general mooning over _Hamilton_


End file.
